BACKGROUND:
As discussed at the January meeting of the Board of Visitors,
alcohol abuse is the number one public health hazard for students
at the University of Virginia. To address this problem, the University-Wide
Task Force on Alcohol Abuse was appointed by President Casteen
to study the complex issues involved and to develop a specific
plan for dealing with alcohol abuse at the University of Virginia.

This Task Force was charged with the responsibility to study the
following issues and make recommendations to the President no
later than May 1, 1998:

Assessment
of the University's cultural environment and factors that contribute
to alcohol consumption and its impact on the University and larger
community; Review and evaluate programs and activities that diminish
the impact of alcohol consumption/abuse in the University community;
Impact of alcohol on student performance; Evaluation of the means
by which new students are introduced to the University; Examination
of the policies, procedures, and enforcement strategies for dealing
with alcohol related incidents.

DISCUSSION:
The findings and recommendations of the Task Force will be presented
to the Board.

ACTION
REQUIRED: None.

B.
Summer Honor Trials

BACKGROUND:
Over the past two years, the Honor Committee has successfully
implemented reforms designed to improve and strengthen the Honor
System. Two of the key areas of concern have been the length of
time required to complete an investigation and trial, and the
large numbers of cases being submitted to the Honor Committee.
In order to address these issues, the Honor Committee has decided
to conduct Honor proceedings during the summer months.

DISCUSSION:
The Honor Committee will describe their plans for conducting summer
trials and other initiatives.

ACTION
REQUIRED: None.

C.
Fraternity and Sorority Rush

BACKGROUND:
During the fall semester an initiative led by Faculty Senate President
Jahan Ramazani called for an examination of the undergraduate
experience and development of an "intellectual community" among
students and faculty. A major component of this initiative was
a discussion of first year students' experiences during their
first semester at the University. In addition to calling for increased
focus on academics during orientation, the Faculty Senate passed
a resolution in support of moving fraternity and sorority rush
out of the first year altogether and into the fall semester of
the second year.

Throughout this academic year, the Dean of Students has been an
active participant in the discussions surrounding rush. The Dean
of Students is also the University official responsible for identifying
the dates for rush. After extensive discussions with all the constituencies
involved, the Dean of Students decided to move rush out of the
fall semester to the beginning of the spring semester.

DISCUSSION:
This presentation will include a discussion of this issue and
the implementation plans being developed.

ACTION
REQUIRED: None.

D.
Orientation Task Force

BACKGROUND:
In October 1997, Vice President Harmon charged the Orientation
Task Force with the responsibility of reviewing the University
of Virginia's overall model for orienting new students to the
University community. This included a comprehensive review of
the objectives, philosophy, and implementation of the University's
new student orientation program. While mindful of past successes,
the Task Force was asked to focus on the future of the University
and to recommend the development of the best orientation program
the University is capable of producing. Throughout this process,
the Task Force was asked to consider the different needs of first
year students, transfer students and their families. The Task
Force was asked to submit a report to Vice President Harmon by
the end of the spring semester.

Early in its deliberations, the Task Force agreed that orientation
is not simply an event at the beginning of the year managed by
the University. Instead, an orientation program should be a comprehensive
process that begins as soon as the student accepts admission and
continues on into the first year. Based on this definition, the
Task Force worked to develop a new orientation program for entering
students and their families. In developing this proposal, the
Task Force included input from all areas of the University community.

DISCUSSION:
The findings and recommendations of the Orientation Task Force
will be presented to the Board.